The Super League arrived on campus this week with first team professionals from Hull Kingston Rovers joining students with Loughborough College’s Rugby Football League Midlands Academy for training.
Josh Mantellato, James Donaldson, John Boudebza, Adam Walker and Liam Salter, together with the club’s Head of Athletic Performance Tom Clough, took the young players through a range of conditioning and skill activities.
“These are professional Super League players operating at the highest level, including internationally, so this was a great opportunity,” said Rich Tunningley, RFL Midlands England Regional Performance Coach at Loughborough College.
“Our lads certainly rose to the challenge and the Hull Kingston Rovers players were very impressed with their attitude and work ethic.
“It was incredibly valuable to have that close interaction, the younger players gained a real insight into what is required physically and psychologically to rise through the ranks and what they might encounter, both along the way and once they’ve reached the top.
‘Their performance on the field with the professionals was a great boost to our players’ confidence, a week away from our first fixture of the new season.”
Loughborough College’s RFL Academy was awarded England Category 3 accreditation in the summer, placing them just short of the Super League and Championship sides operating at Categories 1 and 2 and offering a further boost to talent on the programme, which has seen several College players secure professional contracts.
The team will now play in the elite North West Colleges League. “It is unknown territory but we played a friendly against Moreton Academy before Christmas and beat them convincingly, so we confident going into our first cup game against Warrington Collegiate next week,” added Rich Tunningley.
The squad’s visit to Loughborough College was part of a unique pre-season camp for Hull Kingston Rovers’ first team. Rather than heading off to warm weather training overseas as usual, players have been travelling all over the UK to take part in a variety of community activities and challenges designed to test their physical and mental capabilities.
When players arrived for training they were split into groups, stripped of their phones, car keys and wallets before being sent out across the country – expected to find food and accommodation for themselves as well as take part in the activities organized for them. Before arriving at Loughborough College, players had been helping out at a hospice in Warrington.
Pictured: Super League first team players from Hull Kingston Rovers join Loughborough College’s RFL Midlands Academy for training